Carrying and dispensing device for spool mounted wire



G. W. BAKER May 26, 1964 CARRYING AND DISPENSING DEVICE FOR SPOOLMOUNTED WIRE Filed Dec. 14.

W/T/VESS' BV #0161! 6. 724/451? United States Patent ()fitice 3,134,555Patented May 26, 1964 3,134,555 CARRYING AND DISPENSING DEVICE FOR SPOOLMOUNTED WIRE Gene W. Baker, 1817 76th St, Des Moines, Iowa Filed Dec.14, 1961, Ser. No. 159,277 6 Claims. (Cl. 24286.5)

Electrical contractors experience great inconvenience on jobs whichrequire numerous types and sizes of wire. The wire being placed in astructure is taken from indivual boxes and spools and the electriciancarries these sometimes heavy boxes of spools from place to placethroughout the structure wherever the wire is being needed. The wire isnot easily controlled as it is taken from these boxes or spools.

Therefore, the principal object of my invention is to provide a carryingand dispensing device for spool mounted wire which will permit aplurality of spools of wire to be carried from place to place withoutdiificulty.

A further object of my invention is to provide a carrying and dispensingdevice for spool mounted wire that will permit selective and independentdispensing of wire from a plurality of spools without removing thespools from their mounted positions on a movable carrying structure.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a carrying anddispensing device for spool mounted wire which will accommodate aplurality of spools and which will permit the independent replacement ofindividual spools.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a carrying anddispensing device for spool mounted wire which will permit wire to bedispensed from one of a plurality of spools Without actuating theremaining spools of wire.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a carrying anddispensing device for spool mounted wire which is readily mobile in thecarrying operation and which is held against movement during the wiredispensing operation.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a carrying anddispensing device for spool mounted wires which will accommodate spoolsof different diameters and which will accommodate spools havingdifferent axial bores.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a carrying anddispensing device for spool mounted wire wherein the individual spoolscan be easily attached to or removed from the supporting structure.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a carrying anddispensing device for spool mounted wire that is economical ofmanufacture, durable in use, and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements, andcombination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,specifically pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my device with a plurality of spoolsmounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of my device taken on line 22 of FIG.1; 7

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of my device taken on line 33 of FIG.1; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of my device in an upright position.

I have used the numerals and 12 to designate two parallel L-shaped barswhich are comprised of elongated straight portions 14 and handleportions 16 which are disposed at right angles to the straight portionsat one of the ends thereof. I will describe my device as oriented in theposition of FIG. 1 but it is understood that this orientation of thevarious components of the unit is changed when the unit is placed in theupright position of FIG. 4. Rubber cups 18 are frictionally secured tothe lower ends of the handle portions 16 of bars 10 and 12 and thefunction of these cups 18 will be described hereafter.

A vertically disposed plate 20 is secured near its lower edge to theends of bars 10 and 12 opposite to handle portions 16. Plate 20 can besecured to bars 10 and 12 by welding or the like. A plurality of bars 22extend between the parallel bars 10 and 12 in spaced relation to eachother. The ends of bars 22 can be welded to the bars 10 and 12. Bars 22can be uniformly spaced and are parallel to each other. An arcuateshaped depression 24 extends downwardly at the center of each of thebars 22. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a finger 25 is punched upwardlyout of depression 24 on the longitudinal axes of the bars 22. As shownin FIG. 3, finger 25 divides the arcuate shaped depressions 24 into twosupporting surfaces 26 and 28.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, L-shaped brackets 30 are supported on top ofeach of the bars 22. Brackets 30 are comprised of a substantiallystraight portion 32 and a handle portion 34 which extends downwardlyfrom the outer respective ends of the brackets. Two separate elongatedslots 36 extend through the straight portions 32 of each bracket 30along the longitudinal axis thereof. Conventional nuts 37 can be weldedor otherwise secured to the bottoms of bars 22 below the slots 36 inbrackets 39. A suitable bolt 38 extends downwardly through slots 36 anda suitable aperture in bars 22 to be threadably mounted in each one ofthe nuts 37. Springs 40 can be positioned between the top of the bracket30 and the heads of each bolt 38 so that tension in a downward directioncan be exerted by the springs on the brackets. The tension in spring 40can be selectively adjusted by adjusting the position of bolts 38 innuts 37. The tension in springs 40 will not prevent the sliding movementof the brackets 30 with respect to the individual bars 22, but thesprings do serve to yieldably resist this sliding action.

Brackets 42 can be welded to the ends of bars 10 and 12 adjacent plate2% and can extend downwardly from the bars in parallel relation. An axle44 is rotatably secured in conventional fashion at the lower end ofbrackets 42 and wheels 46 are secured in conventional fashion to theouter ends of axle 44. Thus, the wheels 46 and the handle portions 16 ofbars 10 and 12 serve to maintain the straight portions 14 of the bars ina substantially horizontal position when the unit is disposed as shownin FIG. 1. The forwardmost point of the wheels 46, as shown in FIG. 1,should not extend beyond the forward surface of plate 20. This willenable the plate 20 to support the entire unit on a horizontal surfacewhen the bars 19 and 12 are moved to a vertical position as shown inFIG. 4.

The normal operation of my device is as follows: The electrician canmove each of the brackets 30 to an open position as depicted in FIG. 2.This position of bracket 31 is achieved by sliding the bracket outwardlyfrom the center depression 24 in bar 22. In FIG. 4, I have shown aplurality of spools 48, 5t), 52, 54, 56 and 58 mounted on my device. InFIG. 1, spools 56 and 58 have been removed to more fully illustrate thestructure of the unit. The spools may have center openings which vary indiameter. Accordingly, a stud shaft 60 is movably inserted into thecenter opening of spool 54 and a stud shaft 62 of a difierent diameteris inserted into the center opening of spool 52. As shown in FIG. 3,each of the shafts 60 and 62 are long enough to span the distancebetween a supporting surface 28 in one depression 24 and a supportingsurface 26 in an adjacent depression 24. prevents the adjacent ends ofshafts 6i and 62 from engaging each other.

After the various spools of wire have been mounted in therespectivedepressions 24 on bars 22, the brackets 36 can be moved inwardly towardsthe center of the unit over the depression 24to prevent the shafts uponwhich the spools are mounted from moving out of their supportedpositions within the various depressions 24. A bracket adjacent theexposed end of spool 54 in FIG. 1 is shown to be in this closedposition. After the various spools have been secured to the unit in thismanner, the electrician can then grasp the handle portions 16 of bars 10and 12 to wheel the unit to any desired location. The unit can be tiltedupon plate as shown in FIG. 4, if the wire dispensing operation is notto begin immediately. When the electrician reaches his Work station withthe unit, the bars 10 and 12 are lowered to a horizontal position, asshown in FIG. 1, whereupon the. unit is supported by the wheels 46 andthe two handle portions 16.

The electrician can then begin to reel wire from any one of the spools.The rubber cups 18 on the lower ends of handle portions 16 prevent theunit from moving laterally as the electrician. pulls wire from thevarious spools. Since the fingers in the depressions 24, of bars 22completely separate the ends of these spool supporting shafts It shouldalso be noted in FIG. 3 that the finger 25 60 and 62, each individualspool can be independently.

rotated without causing any rotation of adjacent spools. It should alsobe noted that wire can be dispensed from the spools from either side ofthe unit. If all of the wire is taken from one of the spools, theelectriciancan merely move the brackets which are securing the emptyspool from a closed to an open position. The spool is then removed andanother spool can be put in its place without affecting or moving theremaining spool. Again, the depressions 24in the bars 22 willaccommodate spool supporting "shafts of varying diameters so that aspool havmg-a center opening diameter of one dimension can .be'substituted for a second spool having a center openarrangement of mycarrying and dispensing device for spool mounted wire without departingfrom the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intentionto 'cover by my, claims, any modified forms of structure or use ofmechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within theirscope.

I'claim: 1. In a device of the class described, two parallel horizontalbars, oneend of said bars terminating in a downwardly extending portionto supportone end of said bars, wheel members on the other end of saidbars to support 7 the other end thereof, a plurality of cross membersextending between said bars in parallel spaced relation, a downwardlyextending arcuate depression in each of said cross members, said arcuatedepressions adapted to receive the ends of shafts having varyingdiameters,

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein rubber cupsare on the lower ends ofthe downwardly ex-tending portions of said bars to resist lateralmovement of said bars.

' 3. The structure of claim 1 wherein a vertical plate is secured to theends of said bars adjacent said wheels whereby said bars can besupported in a vertical position at times when said plate is moved to ahorizontal position.

4. In a device of the class described,

two parallel horizontal bars, I

one end of said bars terminating in a downwardly extending portion tosupport one end of said bars,

wheel members on the other end of said bars'to support the other endthereof, 7

a plurality of cross members extending betweensaid bars in parallelspaced relation, I

a downwardly extending arcuate depression in each of said cross members,7

' said arcuate depressions adapted to receive the ends of shafts havingvarying diameters,

and a bracket element movably secured to said cross members and adaptedto extend across said arcuate depressions at times.

5. In a device of the class described,

two parallel horizontal bars,

one end of said bars terminating in a downwardly extending portion tosupport one end of said bars,

wheel members on the other end of said bars to support the other endthereof, 5

a plurality of crossmembers extending between said bars in parallelspaced relation,

a downwardly extending arcuate depression in each of said cross members,7

said arcuate depressions adapted to receive the ends of shafts havingvarying diameters,

means secured to said cross members and extending into said arcuatedepressions to separate the adjacent ends of two shafts supported withinsaid de-' pressions,

and :a bracket element movably secured to said cross members and adaptedto extend across said arcuate their longitudinal axes perpendicularlydisposed to the axis of rotation of said wheel members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS337,119 Bigelow Mar. 2, 1886 611,767 Bossow Oct. 4, 1898 1,583,868vBerger May 11, 1926 2,841,343 Dorman July 1, 1958 2,965,327 Blary Dec.20, 1960

6. IN A DEVICE OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED, TWO PARALLEL HORIZONTAL BARS, ONE END OF SAID BARS TERMINATING IN A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING PORTION TO SUPPORT ONE END OF SAID BARS, WHEEL MEMBERS ON THE OTHER END OF SAID BARS TO SUPPORT THE OTHER END THEREOF, A PLURALITY OF CROSS MEMBERS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID BARS IN PARALLEL SPACED RELATION AND MEANS ON SAID CROSS MEMBERS FOR RECEIVING AND SUPPORTING THE ENDS OF A PLURALITY OF SHAFTS HAVING THEIR LONGITUDINAL AXES PERPENDICULARLY DISPOSED TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID WHEEL MEMBERS, 